This is a guest post from our very own Blogmocracy mascot, Leia:

Hi friendly people!

Last week, I wrote about the brave dogs who help our troops fight overseas. This week, I thought I’d write about some dogs that help the toops when they get home: Military Thearapy Dogs.

Launched just eight months ago, Veterans Moving Forward vows to provide service dogs, at no cost, to veterans with physical and mental health challenges, including those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries.

“We want to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our veterans by increasing their safety and independence within their environment,” said Karen Jeffries, founder of Veterans Moving Forward, or VMF, and a service-disabled veteran herself. She retired as a commander from the Navy nine years ago.

“We differ from similar services that only focus on vets with PTSD or those from certain wars. I don’t care if somebody lost their leg because of diabetes or they lost a leg because of an IED (improvised explosive device) explosion. If they’re a wounded veteran, we will engage with their health care team, to analyze their needs and see if one of our dogs can help them,” she said.

The organization not only provides skilled companion dogs to veterans, it also employs veterans.

“Our motto and our goal is ‘for veterans, with veterans and by veterans,'” said Jeffries.

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Since July of last year, VMF, which now has eight dogs, has partnered with orthopedic clinics, private practice, practitioner’s health care, psychologists and licensed clinical social workers, as well as visitation programs.

“We have helped dozens of vets in our comfort and therapy program, but I have not yet placed a dog with a vet that has been trained by my organization,” Jeffries said, adding that the training program for this to happen can take up to two years to complete.

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Because the training program can take up to two years, her dogs and the volunteers who train the dogs — at home and with Kristen Ness at Pender Veterinary Centre in Fairfax where co-owner Mark Johnson has donated the space — are all on track to provide specialized types of service:

– Comfort dogs provide opportunities for motivational, educational, recreational and/ or therapeutic benefits to enhance quality of life for veterans.
– Therapy dogs participate in animal-assisted therapy with specific goals, objectives and progress, documented by health-care professionals such as: occupation therapists; physical therapists; certified therapeutic recreation specialists; psychologists for post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, socialization, mental stimulation and motivation to participate in therapy and recovery; and speech therapists.
– Facility dogs are assigned duty to work at the side of a professional caregiver, health-care practitioner or physical or occupation therapist to engage veterans in activities.
– Assistance/Service dogs stay with a veteran for up to seven years and can help to retrieve dropped items, open and close doors, turn on or off the light switches, carry items and alert in an emergency.

If you want more information, or to help these nice folks and their awesome dogs provide assistance for our veterans, visit www.vetsfwd.org

That’s all for today! Bye!